Roachford & MF Robots Tickets

We are delighted to welcome the talented Andrew Roachford and his incredible band to perform a special concert at the festival this year at Blackmore Gardens.

This event is part of the 2024 Sidmouth International Jazz & Blues Festival - please click here to see the full festival programme and buy tickets.

Andrew Roachford MBE is a British singer and songwriter and formed a band of the same name in 1987 and by 1988 they were touring, supporting acts such as Terence Trent D’Arby and The Christians.

They went on to be signed by Columbia who gave them a seven-album recording deal and with 1989 hits Cuddly Toy and Family Man, they became Columbia’s biggest selling UK act for ten years

Latterly he has been a member of Mike and the Mechanics, the band led by Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford, whilst continuing his incredibly successful solo career.

Roachford has just released his sixth solo album (and 11th overall), Twice In A Lifetime. Here Roachford settles into a comfortable groove of traditional soul mixed with a few healthy doses of modern embellishments.

From the moment Andrew Roachford found himself sitting at a piano aged four, music has been his way of making sense of the world. Growing-up in London around a vibrant melting pot culture, he was like a sponge absorbing diverse musical influences from reggae and punk, to rock, Jazz and soul music.

Roachford’s trademark has become his rare ability to put into words, feelings you didn’t even know you had, “It’s one of the reasons why I make music; to bring out those things that people feel but haven’t always got a voice for. I like to bring the inner person to the forefront.”

Andrew recently collaborated with Beverley Knight on a joint album Twice In a Lifetime, which was released in September 2020, and which charted at number 31 on the UK albums chart.

“The much loved, respected and acclaimed British Soul singer, songwriter and composer that has stood the test of time with music credibility that has endured”

The festival is delighted to welcome the Soulful and Funky sounds of MF Robots as they perform a special double bill evening show on Friday 24 May at Blackmore Gardens.

Collaborating for the first time while recording and performing with one of the UK’s most commercially successful Acid Jazz bands The Brand-New Heavies in 2013, founder and drummer Jan Kincaid and vocalist Dawn Joseph discovered immediate musical chemistry and began writing songs together right away.

They soon left the band to concentrate on their own work, starting MF Robots (Music for Robots) and releasing an eponymous debut in 2018.

The band have toured the world and were personally asked by Lenny Kravitz to support him on his last European Arena tour – The band’s latest record ‘Break the Wall’ is out on BBE Records and including contributions from studio legends, Gail Anne Dorsey (David Bowie) and Cory Wong (Vulfpeck).

“It’s about liberation, about being freed from musical constraints and perceptions, about pushing the envelope and challenging ourselves and making it edgy,” says Jan Kincade.

MF Robots – their name, a subtle dig at how generic today’s music climate has become – based around Joseph’s effusive vocals, mindful of soul’s golden age but no revival, and Kincaid’s killer rhythms. Touchstones for Joseph are Anita Baker, Gladys Knight, and Whitney; their classicism viewed here through a modern lens. “The first time I heard Dawn sing, I was gripped,” says Kincaid. “Her voice just pulled me in.”

Dawn Joseph is a vibrant personality, both on and off stage, with a rich musical past – she started out playing bass with Phil Collins’ band and has sung with acts as diverse as Kylie Minogue, Michael McDonald and CeeLo Green – she is a part of that lineage that connects Rick James, Nile Rodgers, and Grace Jones.

Her attire, which she designs and makes herself, is flamboyant and colourful and she carries herself with a flair and verve.